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Yamada Naomichi
Yamada Naomichi (山田 直道, lit. yamada naomichi) currently known as Hammer Nao (ハンマー・ナオ, lit. hanmā nao), is a Japanese featherweight boxer affiliated with the Hachinoe Kentou-kai. Prior to the events of New Challenger, he was a member of the Kamogawa Boxing Gym. Appearance During The Events of Hajime no Ippo: The Fighting At this point of the storyline Yamada sported a very meek and unpleasant appearance. He had a pale skin tone and a body built muscular for boxing, long black hair, long moderately thick eyebrows and a large prominent nose. His eyes are large with dark colored pupils. During the Events of Hajime no Ippo: New Challenger Yamada now goes by the ringname Hammer Nao, and modified his appearance to that of a rugged ugly and fearsome boxer. He is shown to have shaved his head and eyebrows as well as twisted his face to show a considerable amount of dimples to appear more menacing. A shadow now rests over his dark eyes. His trademark large nose however showed no signs of changes. Subsequent to his first loss against Makunouchi Ippo, Yamada has grown back some of his black hair and eyebrows. Personality First shown to be an extremely shy, meek and incompetent trainee at the Kamogawa Boxing Gym, Yamada has had a lengthy history of being bullied and shunned by others for his appearance and demeanor. Nevertheless he is shown to be kind and encouraging to others and views Makunouchi Ippo with utmost admiration due to the latter's kind treatment towards him and their similar pasts. Returning as Hammer Nao however Yamada's personality is viewed to have changed drastically. He is shown to be guiltless and menacing, often glaring at others and provoking them (evident in his encounter with Aoki Masaru and Kimura Tatsuya). He now dislikes being thought of and referred to as a kouhai and apprentice of Kamogawa Boxing Gym. Yamada seems to have matured as well, and shows a good amount of seriousness towards boxing. However, he silently continues to admire and respect the strength of his former senpai Ippo. Subsequent to his first loss against Ippo, Yamada has been shown to recover some of his former attitude and meekness, gradually reverting back to his old self. History Yamada was among the trove of aspiring trainees hoping to join the Kamogawa Boxing Gym after its rise to renown in Tokyo and was the only individual to persevere and make it through Takamura Mamoru, Aoki and Kimura's roadwork course (albeit slowly and painfully). He is then given the nickname "Geromichi" after puking on Ippo's shirt from the workout. It is made apparent that he shows great respect for Ippo, and the latter becomes his senpai ''afterwards. Shortly after his pro debut match Yamada leaves Kamogawa Gym and moves to Aomori, where he joins the Hachinoe Kentou-kai boxing gym and continues his training. Two years later he comes back to Tokyo in order to challenge Ippo for the Japanese Featherweight title with a new appearance and demeanor under the ringname Hammer Nao. Yamada loses the match against Ippo. Suffering his first loss and lamenting on how Ippo was still miles stronger than he was, Yamada followed on with his initial plan of retirement, but ultimately chose to continue boxing after Ippo's encouragement. Yamada is later seen with re-grown hair and eyebrows when Takamura is wandering around Aomori. Some local children come to ask for his help in moving an old man's truck out of a ditch, but Yamada realizes that someone had done so already. He is left wondering who it was, deducing that there was no way Takamura would be in Aomori. Fighting Style A boxer with no particular talents to speak of, Yamada had crawled his way through his matches to challenge those of higher ranking. He fights in the standard orthodox style, relying on subtle fouls during in fights to win his way through challenges. Regardless, he is a boxer shown to possess well-trained strength, endurance and spirit. Techniques *Peek-a-Boo Style *Turtle Strategy *Liver Blow *Open Handed Guard Crusher *Solar Plexus Blow Weaknesses Unlike many other gifted characters of the series, Yamada has no natural talent to speak of. He is largely inexperienced with boxing, having never felt the pain of a loss until his match against Ippo. His movements are also (in Ippo's eyes) quite slow and readable. To compensate for this, Yamada has a tendency to perform extremely subtle flaws at close range to land his signature Solar Plexus Blow. Makunouchi Ippo, with greater experience and durability, easily defeats Yamada after taking two Solar Plexus Blows without getting knocked out. Fights Trivia *His nickname Geromichi comes from the Japanese word ''Gero, which means vomit, and ''-michi'' from his given name Naomichi. ''-Michi'' roughly translates to "path". Takamura explains the nickname as meaning "He who walks the path of vomiting". Category:Active boxers Category:Male characters Category:In Fighters Category:Featherweights Category:Hachinoe Kentou-kai Category:Characters from Japan Category:Boxers Category:Orthodox Boxers